Actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie arrive at the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on January 29, 2012. — Photo by AFP
Wednesday, June 08, 2022 6:18 a.m.
LOS ANGELES, June 8 (AP) — Brad Pitt has accused his ex-wife Angelina Jolie of trying to “cause him harm” by selling his stake in his French vineyard to a Russian oligarch with “poisonous associations and intentions.” The allegations, made in new court documents as part of Pitt’s lawsuit against Jolie over the sale of Chateau Miraval, are the latest barb in a bitter legal battle between the former Hollywood power couple who filed for divorce in 2016.
Last October, Jolie sold her stake in the southern French vineyard where she and Pitt celebrated their wedding to Tenute del Mondo, a subsidiary of Russian-born billionaire Yuri Shefler’s beverage conglomerate.
Pitt sued in February, saying the couple had agreed never to sell their interests without each other’s consent and accusing Jolie of seeking “unearned” profits.
In an amended complaint seen by AFP, Pitt’s lawyers argue that “Jolie tried to harm Pitt” with the sale and describe Shefler as “an outsider with poisonous associations and intentions.” The filing received by a Los Angeles court last Friday alleges that Shefler “has personal and professional relationships with people in Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.” Shefler has long been an outspoken critic of Putin, and his beverage conglomerate Stoli Group is based in Latvia.
“Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Miraval’s insurer has sought assurances that Shefler is not aligned with Putin and that affiliation with Stoli would not create a business risk,” the document says.
In March, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Shelfer issued a statement saying he was “exiled from Russia since 2002 due to my opposition to Putin” and changed the name of his company to “solidarity with Ukraine.” But Pitt’s latest filing reads: “Despite Shefler’s desperate attempt to disassociate himself from the Putin regime, the Stoli brand is now a major international liability.” He adds: “Stoli vodka is synonymous with Russia, as countless images of consumers pouring Stoli vodka down the drain make clear.” The complaint also lists Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as part of Shefler’s alleged “disreputable network of professional associates” that “threatens lasting damage to Miraval’s reputation.” Neither Stoli Group nor Jolie immediately responded to AFP’s request for comment.
Once Tinseltown’s most high-profile couple, Pitt and Jolie first got together after co-starring as married killers in the 2005 film Married. MR. and Mrs. Smith. Pitt was married to Jennifer Aniston at the time.
The A-listers announced in 2018 that they had reached an amicable settlement over their children, three biological and three adopted, but any deal quickly seemed to fall apart.
Last July, Jolie scored a victory in her custody battle when the private judge overseeing the divorce and custody matters was disqualified from the case. — AFP
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